Leaders at Work on Plan to Avert Mandatory Cuts — WASHINGTON — Senate leaders are closing in on a path for dealing with the “fiscal cliff” facing the country in January, opting to try to use a postelection session of Congress to reach agreement on a comprehensive deficit reduction deal rather than a short-term solution.

Can Romney turn this contest around? — In baseball, a game without a clock, each player on a team that is behind by a bunch of runs is advised to “stay within yourself.” That baseball lingo means: Do not try to do too much. Instead, get 'em on, get 'em over, get 'em in. There are no five-run home runs.

New Polls Raise Chance of Electoral College Tie — As of Monday's FiveThirtyEight forecast, there were 21 states that Barack Obama was projected to have at least an 85 percent chance of winning on Nov. 6. The list includes three important states, Ohio, Wisconsin and New Hampshire …

U.S. Scales Back Plans for Afghan Peace — KABUL, Afghanistan — With the surge of American troops over and the Taliban still a potent threat, American generals and civilian officials acknowledge that they have all but written off what was once one of the cornerstones of their strategy to end the war here …

Why Obama Is Leading in Swing States — Across most of the presidential battleground states, particularly in the Midwest, President Obama's lead rests on a surprisingly strong performance among blue-collar white women who usually tilt toward the GOP. — A National Journal analysis …

Debate Moderators Are Subject to Partisan Rancor — When Jim Lehrer takes the stage in Denver on Wednesday night, the tens of millions of people watching will see the same imperturbable voice of reason they have come to know in his quarter century as the country's go-to referee for the presidential debates.

Horse races — We wrap up our latest round of polls with Missouri and Nevada. — Missouri — NOTE: A reader just let us know that we originally misspelled Todd Akin's name. It has been corrected, and we apologize for the error. — The Show Me State has shown America a fair amount of political upheaval in the last 12 months.